Remember where you were and what you were doing when businesses, restaurants, agencies, and schools began closing their doors in March 2020? During the early days of isolating ourselves from friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors, many of us were concerned— or even downright frightened—about getting sick. We didn't have the bandwidth to even think about what would happen down the line. We were too busy wiping down our packages, looking for toilet paper, and making sure our laptops could handle the demands of Zoom so that the kids could still “go” to school.

Enough time has passed since then, however, that we can look back with at least a modicum of objectivity. Having lived through several different variants and received several rounds of vaccines, things are much more secure—even though experts warn that the pandemic's not yet over. We're well-positioned by now to evaluate how much of an impact COVID-19 actually had on the nation's children and to extrapolate about the help and support they'll need going forward.

The Pandemic's Effect on Academics

Researchers working with The Brookings Institution analyzed standardized test scores from 5.4 million American students in grades 3-8. In January 2022, they released the results of the survey. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the findings weren't fantastic.

Across the country, across grade levels, and across student populations—all scores had dropped. In some cases, they had dropped dramatically. For example, in 2019, testing revealed that third graders' proficiency in ELA (English language arts) decreased from over 61% in 2019 to 53% in 2022.

That's a significant difference, and researchers observed similar trends again and again while viewing the study's results. Unfortunately, they also found that some groups showed an even greater rate of decline: students living in poverty. Although all of us were challenged to some degree by the pandemic and its effect on learning, economically disadvantaged families experienced even higher hurdles.

Playing Catch Up

Children can learn in just about any environment if that's the only way they have and if they're willing to put in the work. And everyone from parents to principals were prepared, during the pandemic, to let a lot of the little things slide—and even some of the big things.

It was more important to ensure that our kids stayed as safe as possible and that they felt safe even when threats loomed. Keeping our children calm and encouraging them to seek emotional equilibrium was job one. When loved ones are hooked up to ventilators, struggling to survive, grades start to seem a lot less important.

So while the academic impact of COVID was (and continues to be) painful, the deeper issues—those we can't quantify with a poll or a study—pose an even greater cause for concern. A giant slice of Gen Y has suffered the trauma and ill effects of social isolation, of living always on high alert, of grieving for far more relatives than they otherwise would have lost.

Is the Worst of the Fallout Yet to Come?

What effects will this unprecedented interruption of normal child development end up having? While preliminary indications, like the results of the Brookings Institute's study, point to rough terrain ahead in terms of academic development, it's important to remember that it's still early days. Things could end up being much worse than we anticipate. Children of COVID will undoubtedly exhibit behavioral problems, issues with socialization, and a limited capacity to address their emotional well-being. How serious and widespread the effect remains to be seen.

Teachers and administrators have already begun to see a spike in truancy, bullying, poor classroom behavior, and other aftereffects of living through this unique, and uniquely difficult, event. If your child has lashed out or been unable to check their emotions, leading to disciplinary concerns at school, get in touch with the Education Law Team at the Lento Law Firm. Advisor Joseph D. Lento and his colleagues are already becoming well-versed in advocating for these students, kids whose lives have been upended by COVID-19 and the havoc it has left in its wake. Instead of regarding these young people as “bad” kids, delinquents, ne'er-do-wells, or even criminals, we see them as a product of the pandemic era.

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